Our Flashlight Baby
by perFANfection
Summary: Emily's life changing favor of carrying a baby for Beca and Jesse after a long struggle with infertility, brings the two girls closer, allowing Beca and Jesse to have the baby that was supposed to be inevitable, after Chloe gets pregnant, unable to keep her promise to Beca.
1. Burnt Out

"Jess, this isn't worth the struggle!" Beca exasperatedly collapsed back on her bed, rolling over to face her husband.

"Beca, c'mon." He pulls her closer, snuggling her body into his and wrapping his arms around her, smiling lovingly at her.

"Jesse, I don't think I can handle another loss." She whimpers, dodging eye contact with him.

"No harm, no foul. We can't give up trying!" He encourages.

The two had been trying for over a year and a half to have a baby,struggling to conceive when Beca was diagnosed with PCOS, small cysts on her enlarged ovaries, but also staying pregnant was half of the battle. Beca's doctor had found a septum in her uterus, dividing it in half and making it impossible for the baby to grow, resulting in the loss of their two children. It could be removed, but that still wouldn't accommodate her PCOS.

Her gynecologist had told her that if the baby had been on one side over the other, she may have had a better chance. But both pregnancies resulted in loss and disappointment. At one point they were recommended to ivf treatment, but the two never saw it necessary. Until Chloe had sat down with Beca to have dinner, careful never to hound Beca of when she and Jesse were going to start a family, knowing the struggle her friend had gone through.

Instead, Chloe pulled her steaming cup of decaf toward her, lifting it right beneath her nose, inhaling the smell of the bitter beverage.

"Chloe, aren't you going to actually drink that?" Beca remarks.

"The way the steam warms my face, I don't know. It's sort of comforting." Chloe insists, and Beca rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, it really gives you a soft glow." Beca adds sarcastically.

"Shut up Becs." Chloe laughs.

Chloe sets her cup down and stirs it some more, but never brings the cup back to her lips, but instead politely pushes it to the side as if she had forgotten about it.

"Chloe?" Beca finally speaks up.

"Yeah?" She replies cluelessly.

"Is there a reason you're acting like the coffee is poisoned?"

Chloe bites the inside of her cheek, unsure of whether or not her news would startle Beca. She decided that there was no use in hiding it, because it still would change the fact that it was happening.

"I'm pregnant!" She exclaims.

Beca literally begins feeling the coffee burn it's way down her throat, the roof of her mouth sore as if the skin was peeling from it.

"Chloe, wow!" She says, trying to support her friend while hiding her disappointment that it wasn't her.

Beca reached for her napkin, unfolding and refolding until the creases weakened its hold and ripped it into two, trying to avoid eye contact with Chloe in order not to spoil the moment with what was bothering her. Beca didn't want to ruin the exciting moment by making it about her. She wanted to be there and happy for her friend.

"Beca?" Chloe acknowledged that her friend looked close to tears.

"Chlo, I'm happy for you, really. But it's tough. I've always imagined being pregnant with you, and having our kids grow up together." Her voice cracks, and she feels as though her words were bitter, even if they were meant with all sincerity.

Chloe's eyes turn to hurt, reddened by the stinging in the back of her eyes. Chloe was not only saddened by the loss, but also by the fact none other than being upset to see her friend hurting. She reached over for Beca's hands, only wanting to comfort her with actions, showing that she cared, rather than trying to convince Beca with words.

"Beca, even though I can't really place myself in your shoes, I promise you, the pain will be easier once you find your own ways to cope with it. The hurt never really goes away though, it just gets easier to handle." She consoles her, not trying to be too pushy.

"I've eaten twice my weight since we lost the baby. And it's a miracle that I got out of bed for another reason beside just going to the kitchen. Jesse and I are trying to cope, but it's tough." She grumbles.

"Beca, everyone copes in their own ways at their own pace. Some people take longer to heal than others, but it will get easier. It's always gonna hurt, but eventually you'll be able to deal better. But you need to talk about it, rather than shoving your feelings deeper down." Chloe consoles her.

"Chloe, i'm sorry, and I'm very excited for you! It's just, it's selfish to be complaining when I should be celebrating for you."

"You're not selfish! You're hurting, and it's totally natural to have these feelings. It's not fair, especially since I promised to help you." She assures her.

"Don't be sorry! You shouldn't wait to start a family until I have one! We'll figure something out, promise." Beca reassures her.

Beca's lips curl into a weak smile, feeling comfort from her friend, and Beca in that moment, decided to change her attitude, and though it wouldn't change how much hurt she felt, it did help give her a new and positive outlook.

"So, when's this baby due?" Beca asks, suddenly interested.

"He's due in August." She replies enthusiastically.

"He? You know already?"

"I'm only sixteen weeks!" She defends.

"Still, that's a long time! How'd you manage to keep this a secret?"

"There's a lot more to me than you know." She grins mischievously.

"And I thought after you saw me naked that we had no secrets." Beca laughs.

 **XXX**

Beca reclines into her boss's chair, lifting her tiny boots with their six inch heels onto the soundboard of the recording studio. Emily stands, nervously shifting on her feeting back and forth while waiting for Beca to give her the go. Together in that one week, Beca and Emily had spent already a total of 42 hours writing Emily's song, and another ten hours working on perfecting her very first sample.

"Ready Em?" Beca called through the maxi glass outside the soundproof booth and Emily grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

"Beca, are you alright?"

Emily sets down her headphones and begins to exit the booth, noticing the distant look on the brunette's face, who had just stopped paying attention to the recording. Beca jumps, looking back to Emily, and faking a small, squinted smile.

"Mom? What's bugging you?" Emily asks again.

"Um.. okay, Jesse and I found out we had another miscarriage recently. But look, I should dump this baggage and unfairly expect you to help me pick up the pieces. I should be putting myself back together, instead of bringing everyone down with me." Her voice cracks.

"Beca, you are not a burden! We're here because we want to help you, not because we have to. When you're hurting, we're here to help you lighten your load by talking to you. And I would do anything for you! I would carry your baby for you if I knew you'd have less baggage being dragged around by the fact that you can't get pregnant!" She offers.

"Wow Em, but I could never ask that of you and Benji to go through a pregnancy for me."

"Mom, really! We're an aca-family! If you ask for a G#, i'll sing higher, if you want me to take a half step forward, i'll jump in!"

Beca stifles a laugh at the sweet, affectionate, yet sometimes over enthusiastic teen. Emily had a good heart, and good intentions, and sometimes her mess ups, like "flashlight" could be turned into a real winner.

 **XXX**

Emily's intentions slowly turned into an official favor, and she and Beca found themselves at the beginning of a long road to what Emily suggested was "The pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.", and at which Beca laughed.

The long journey would be just that, and it wasn't going to be easy. Officially the two met with a gynecologist for an evaluation, the first of many evaluations of Emily's reproduction health. And Beca and Emily had to make sure that her husband was on board for the emotional toll this pregnancy would press on the family. And it was finally, a few months after their first initial visit, and six weeks after starting drugs to help Emily stop ovulating, that Emily would go through her first round of IVF.

Emily lay with her legs in the stirrups, a thin paper sheet covering her where the gown opened, and Beca and Benji stood on either side, holding her hands as she breathed deeply, trying not to shout, and wincing at the thought of what was happening.

The doctor looked up and glared at Emily. She pulled her gloves off, turning them inside out and threw them in the garbage beside her. Then she grabbed some paper work, and printed Emily an ultrasound of her uterus pre-baby.

"If you took your drugs as directed these last few weeks, they should have kept you from ovulating." The doctor informs her and Emily nods in assurance that she did.

"So we'll see you after our ten day wait, and you should be getting a positive pregnancy test if it worked. If not, we'll wait six more weeks before trying again. But there are no promises because even though you don't have a septum separating your uterus, there's still no guarantees that inseminating you with Jesse's sample will work." She informs her.

As she leaves, Emily smiles up at Beca, nervously shaking and feels a little guilt nipping at her thoughts. _What if this doesn't work?_ Emily worries. _What if I let her down?_ And that's the way her racing thoughts would stay up leading up to her visit in ten days.


	2. Never an easy thing

Emily's hands shook as she unwrapped the packaging around her test, looking to Beca for comfort and reassurance. It had been the ten day wait before the test could be taken, and this was the moment of truth. Whether she was pregnant or not, she would still have to go back to the doctor, either for an evaluation on round two of IVF or to get her pregnancy confirmed.

"Beca, i'm sorry." Emily said as she exited the bathroom.

"What happened Em?" Beca asks, suddenly concerned.

"I'm just saying it ahead of time because i'm gonna feel terrible if I'm not pregnant." she rambles, tears in her voice.

Beca reaches out, putting her hands on Emily's shoulders, then turning to put her arm around the tall girl, pulling her into a side hug, squeezing firmly.

"Em, it's gonna be okay because we'll be able to deal with it. But by no means would it ever be your fault. You're only the carrier, but it's Jesse's sample. And don't you think we would have tried this a long time ago if we knew it was gonna for sure work?"

Emily nods, and looks at Beca, who gestures to the bathroom, sending Emily back to read the results.

"Em?" Beca asks, her voice wavering nervously.

Emily peers out of the doorway in disbelief, a small grin being painted on her face.

"Aca- OMG!" She says, slowly building up her enthusiasm.

Beca wraps Emily into a grateful hug, ecstatic to tell Jesse the news, and nervous on how she would break it to him. But a part of her wanted to wait as a precaution, because there was still a chance that Emily might not be pregnant.

"Em, you've got to promise to keep it cool around Jesse. Just until we know to avoid any disappointment. We have to find a special way to break it to him." Beca smiles mischievously, and Emily nods.

 **XXX**

As Emily's pregnancy was confirmed, and an ultrasound was printed, the two went to Beca's car, nervously chatting on how they would break it to Jesse, as Emily, as always overenthusiastic, squealed at the ideas that they were throwing out there. Until Beca felt something click.

"What's this about?" Jesse asks as Beca walks him into the room, her hands over his eyes and Emily in front, making sure that he wouldn't peek.

Beca sits him on their couch, uncovering his eyes as she clicks on their tv.

"I want you to watch the end of this movie, so I can change your life, and make ours memorable." Beca grins.

"Tina Fey's, Baby Momma?" Jesse asks confused.

"Classic?" Beca smirks.

"Not even close. Cheaper by the Dozen, Baby's Day out, even Juno… wait." Jesse suddenly lights up, as the credits roll after the last five minutes of the movie.

Jesse looks from Beca to Emily, and Beca pulls out a small paper bag, handing it to Jesse to peer inside. He pulls out the ultrasound, with a handwritten caption that reads: "Our bun is being baked in her oven."

Jesse puts down the ultrasound, jumping into Beca's arms and passionately kissing her until he's reminded by Emily's small voice clearing her throat, that she was still there. Jesse releases Beca from his grip and smiles at Emily, walking over as he and Beca sandwich Em into a hug.

"We can't thank you enough, Legacy." Beca says, overwhelmed by emotions.

 **XXX**

"Pink means pregnant." The doctor had said, dipping a test paper stick, containing the same kind of paper in a pregnancy test, into a sample cup of Emily's urine.

As he dipped the tip in, Emily sat on the exam table with Beca beside her, watching as the doctor pulled the HCG strip out and watched as the tip appeared a very faint pink, and slowly darkened in the next two minutes. Emily's eyes widened and her heart raced, even though she felt tension leave, and her thoughts quicken.

Beca on the other hand, stood quietly, feeling Emily's hand squeeze hers as she took time to absorb the news slowly, unsure of how to appropriately express her gratitude. So instead of jumping up and down like she expected to do, she felt tears sting in the back of her eyes, overwhelmed by the joy the child was already bringing, and her thankfulness for a friend like Emily.

After he left, the girls hugged, Emily jumping down from the table and pushing herself into the corner to redress, dropping her robe and staring down at her not for long flat stomach, housing the baby that they had desperately wanted. And he or she was finally coming.

And once Emily finally hit the six week mark in her pregnancy a few weeks later, it was becoming apparent that she was pregnant, at least to her and Beca, and it was the beginning of when her pregnancy would start to feel like the real thing.

Beca woke up in the middle of the night, upon hearing a stirring coming from the bathroom, and the sound of the toilet running after it flushes for the second time.

"Emily? What are you doing up?" Beca asks in surprise to see her up at the wee hours of the morning.

"I'm sick, obviously. I've been in here since we went to bed at 11:30." She groans as she kneels next to the toilet, laying her arm on the seat, and resting her head on it.

Beca grabs a cloth and wets it, handing it to Emily as she helps her stand. Once on her feet, she leans her head on Beca as Beca holds her up, feeling her forehead with her hand, then to her stomach.

"Yep, you're pregnant." She confirms sarcastically.

"Please tell me it gets easier." Emily whimpers, but Beca only shakes her head.

"Wish I could kiddo, but I never made it past my second trimester." Beca informs her and Emily groans more.

"Wait here." Beca demands, as she leaves Emily on her bed and walks into the next.

"Chloe? Wake up, Emily needs advice." Beca shakes the frizzy haired ginger out of her sleep.

"Huh?" Chloe asks with sleep induced confusion.

"Emily is experiencing morning sickness first hand, and I think you might be the one she needs to hear from." Beca informs her as Chloe slowly sits up.

"Em?" Chloe asks as she lightly knocks on her bedroom door a few minutes later, looking in to find Emily leaning against the bathroom door, a second garbage can near her side, and her blanket wrapped comfortably, warmly snuggled around her.

"Uhn…" Emily moans, laying over on her side.

"How are you feeling, baby girl?" Chloe asks, squatting beside her.

"Like aca-awful." She throws in the pun in order to slightly lighten the moment.

"Aw, I can't say it will get better or worse, but I do know it'll be worth it. You're aca-amazing!" Chloe consoles her, stroking her hair as Beca smiles, agreeing.

Beca helps Chloe to her feet, and Chloe reaches for Emily, walking the brunette to bed and throwing her blanket over her, then places a trash can next to her bed, as well as a plastic cup of water from the bathroom sink.

The night wasn't any easier for Emily, especially when she had thrown up everything to a point when she would start dry heaving, and wound up sleeping in, feeling the worst she had felt in months. Usually she was pretty energetic, but felt it leave, as the days went on and she coped with it, taking nausea vitamins, and forcing herself to take the mornings more slowly, avoiding any head rushes or sudden nausea upon moving too fast.

And Bella rehearsals weren't any easier on her. She had thrown up at the conclusion of their set, and sat by Beca at the piano, drinking small sips of water, while helping Beca to the best of her ability, choose and arrange the songs, so that the other's could nail down choreography.

"Em, i'm taking a lunch. Do you need anything?" Beca asks as she grabs her purse.

"I'm good, thanks mom." She assures her.

Emily rests her head on the piano keys cover, feeling slightly better than she had in the last few weeks, but still not enough to fully be able to make it through a set without feeling nauseas. But as she reached ten weeks, then twelve, she felt it start to diminish, and narrow down to only a few hours of nausea in the morning. She was finally beginning to see the bright side of things, knowing every moment of being miserable was getting her closer to the end.


	3. Motherly Instincts

"Chloe, can you pull over for a sec." Emily groans, her head laid back against the seat.

"Are you gonna get sick?" She asks with sudden concern.

"Mmhm." Emily whines and nods, holding her hands over her mouth.

Chloe pulls her car over to the white line, parking on the side of the road as she turns on her hazards. Almost instantly Emily's door flies open, and Emily leans out the side, hurling over the side of the car until there's nothing left, and she's left dry heaving over the grass.

"Are you good Em?" Chloe asks, unbuckling so she could reach over and rub Emily's back.

Emily sits up, allowing Chloe to sweep her hair back, tying it into messy bun in order to prevent her from puking in her hair anymore. Emily brings her knees to her chest, leaning against the side of the closed door. She sits in silence, concentrating on not throwing up anymore, and also waiting to see if she still would before giving Chloe the okay to keep driving.

"I think there's some anti-nausea gummies in the glove compartment. They might be a little stale, but they still might help somewhat." Chloe suggests and Emily opens the compartment, popping two in her mouth.

Chloe shuts off her hazards, and signals to get back on the road. As they drive, Emily lays her face against the cool window, worrying about the unknowns, and feeling anxious over the entire pregnancy, even more so that she wasn't carrying her own child, but Beca and Jesse's. And cautious was barely the word to describe how Emily was coping.

"Chloe, how are you coping? I mean, I'm terrified of going into labor, and i've still got six more months to go."

Chloe reaches over her seat, grabbing Em's left hand and giving it a squeeze.

"I'm positive that when you're in labor, you won't be thinking about what's going right or wrong because you'll be too focused on actually meeting the baby. And once he or she is here, you'll forget everything. It'll be worth it."

"I'm not keeping the baby, just carrying it for Jesse and Beca." She reminds Chloe.

"I know, but I'm also sure that they're gonna find some way to include you as an important part of this child's life."

Emily clicks her tongue as Chloe taps her knuckles on the wheel, glaring up at the rearview mirror, constantly checking to see if there are any cars behind her out of nervous habit.

"So, how's Benji taking this?" Chloe asks, breaking the silence.

"He's so supportive, or at least he's trying to be. But I can still tell he's under a lot of stress and feels kind of awkward about it, even though he assures me he's proud. I just think he's upset because he was ready to start our family soon and i've been kind of pushing it off to do work things." Emily fills her in on everything she and her husband have discussed.

"Yeah, it wasn't easy on me and Ryan to decide either. We still haven't adjusted to the news and I'm due in three weeks!"

"Have you at least agreed on a name?" Emily asks interested.

"Not even close! Unless you count the drunken list of names he came up with after frat boys party.

"Dare I ask?" Emily asks amused.

"I've decided on Charlie, he just doesn't know if he likes it yet. But right now it's the only name that we agree on that wasn't created or decided off of six beers." She laughs sarcastically.

"And you're not scared for him to come?"

"A little, but I'm looking forward to seeing him for the first time and watching Ryan as a father." She smiles reassuringly at Emily.

"I like the name Maddox, but that doesn't matter."

"Why not?"

"It's not my child!" Emily says with unintentional resentment.

"But i'm sure they wouldn't mind your input." Chloe assures her.

Emily turns over the envelope in her hands, opening the tab and pulling out the ultrasound, feeling herself grin.

"The baby is perfect." She smiles and Chloe agrees.

 **XXX**

After Chloe's water broke in the middle of the night, while staying with Beca to match her choreography according to the set. As Chloe was sitting down to catch her breath, she felt a trickle of fluid trickle down her leg.

"Shoot, I think my water broke!" Chloe groans unexpectedly.

They texted her husband, who was working an hour and a half away at an internship for credit, and Beca assured Chloe that she would stay for moral support as long as Chloe needed.

"Any contractions?" Beca asks, looking over to her friend.

"Not yet, just discomfort. It wouldn't happen that fast." Chloe informs her.

After sixteen long hours of contractions upon contractions, Chloe delivers much to her surprise, a baby girl whom she names Evelyn Charles , adding the somewhat boyish middle name in result of them not planning any girl names.

"Are you sure I'm the father?" Ryan asks jokingly.

"What does that have to do with the gender being wrong? It happens." Chloe snaps out of annoyance.

"Baby Evie," Beca gushes over the tiny infant in Chloe's arms.


	4. Baby Blank Swanson

As Chloe held her now two week old in a sling against her chest, she nursed her while waiting with Emily for the nurse to come in, Jesse standing by Emily's side, holding her hand. Chloe and Jesse had agreed to come to the appointment because Beca had a producer's meeting in New York that weekend.

Jesse stares proudly at the monitor when the nurse arrives, watching as she lathered Emily's popping stomach with jelly and rubbed the sensor over it, the baby's strong heartbeat filling the room much to Jesse's relief.

"She's measuring around seventeen weeks, give or take a week or two for conception, which is easier to track when it's done via IVF." The nurse informs them.

"So when can we find out the gender?" Jesse wonders.

"Jess, what about Beca?" Chloe asks, looking up from feeding Evelyn.

"Are you wanting to find out?" The nurse interrupts.

Emily looks from Jesse to Chloe, who shrugs at her, motioning for her to leave it up to Jesse.

"Really, I have no say because i'm just carrying the baby. But if you want to go behind her back, then that's up to you." Emily adds, hoping to guilt him into changing his mind, secretly not wanting to really know herself.

Nurse Lindy looks from an unsure Emily to Jesse, still stuck on wanting to know, and she sighs, then smiles at him.

"We could put it in an envelope so I wouldn't have to say it aloud." She offers and Jesse agrees.

Beca arrives home at five the next morning, quietly setting her keys on the table upon entering, and hangs her coat lazily over a chair, walking into the kitchen to look for a quick snack before climbing into her old bed at the Bella home.

She opens the fridge, cringing at the bright light and looking around to make sure no one was there watching, before removing the chocolate frosting from the fridge, only to find it three-quarters of the way gone.

"Emily!" She whispers, suspect the young girl was the culprit.

She tosses the can back in the fridge for someone else to discover, and closes the fridge door, opening the cookie jar, removing three cookies and placing them on the counter, then using two hands to quietly set back on the glass lid.

Beca sneaks up the stairs, walking past Emily's room, glancing in her room, finding her leaning with her legs half off her bed, and her face squished against her pillow, looking pale and worn down. Beca walks in and covers Emily back up, her sheets falling halfway off of her again. Before leaving, she walked over to Emily's dresser, intending to leave a small souvenir inside, but instead, she only slides it open to reveal a small, yellow colored envelope with ' _Swanson Ultrasound'_ written in cursive writing.

"Why wouldn't she show me this?" Beca asks, drawn curiously to the envelope.

She examined it. It didn't turn colors, nor did it open itself, but Beca continued to stare at it a few more seconds before sliding it open, pulling the tab folded inside and sliding the ultrasound, as well as a sheet of paper out.

Beca's jaw dropped as she instantly regretted seeing it in the first place. Obviously it was hidden because it was something she wasn't supposed to see, and she felt guilt well up as she shoved it, trying to keep in neat, avoiding bending it as she shoved it back in and closed the draw ever so slyly.

Beca's quiet footsteps quickened, and she crawled under her sheets, laying in disbelief of the envelope before glancing at her phone, contemplating texting Jesse, then remembering that she wasn't supposed to probably find it in the first place. But what upset her most, was that she now knew the gender of her child, and she hadn't wanted to. But she figured that becoming a mother to a baby girl was inevitable.

 **XXX**

"Hey million dollar baby." Jesse smiles as Beca rolls sleepily into his arms.

"When did you get here?" She grumbles with sleep induced confusion.

"Do you really wanna know, or would you rather come down stairs and have breakfast with the Bella's and me?" He smirks, winking at her.

"You're so weird." She grumbles before rolling out of bed.

Upon entering the kitchen, she looks at the Bella's happily glaring at her with excitement, and she worried it would be another intervention on her bad attitude, though she figured they have all come to the conclusion that it would never improve.

"Hey Beca! Jesse and I figured you'd crash here when you got back." Emily greets her, walking her over to the table on the patio.

"Why are we eating out here today?" Beca asks confused, sitting between her husband and Chloe.

"We thought we'd have breakfast as a group since we haven't since you moved out." Chloe informs her.

Jesse glares secretly at Emily, but not careful enough because Beca notices and scuffs at the two.

"Okay, what's up?" She asks with suspicion, before Jesse reaches over and lifts her plate.

Beca stares wide-eyed at the same envelope she had found the night before, sitting underneath her breakfast plate. She stares from Jesse to Emily, who despite still trying to overcome morning sickness, was smiling through her hands, covering her mouth as she felt the nausea intensify at the aroma of Chloe's semi-burned "Special" breakfast pancakes.

Jesse notices Emily and allows her to rest her head into his shoulder in a brotherly way, reaching over his free hand to rub a soothing hand on the young girls back, unknowing of how bad morning sickness was for this usually cheerful young Bella.

"Emily, Chloe and I found out the gender, but we had the nurse write it down so we could find out together." Jesse fills her in.

"Jesse…" She begins, pondering her thoughts as how to break it to him that she knew when he clearly didn't.

Jesse slid the envelope towards Emily, who took it and began to open it, ready to announce the gender to the parents, dramatically dragging it out as she did a little drum-roll with her tongue.

"It's a boy!" She exclaims excitedly, reaching out to hug the proud parents.

The Bella's excitedly chattered around her as they celebrated the upcoming arrival of a new baby boy. Chloe and Ryan had thought they would have a son, but the ultrasound was proven to be inaccurate, a rare occurrence.

"W..what?" Beca muttered in shock before noticing something she hadn't before: This envelope wasn't the yellow one she had found, this one was a beige.

Jesse smiled from Emily to Beca as he softly chuckled, before Chloe slid her from under the table, the yellow envelope she had found earlier that morning.

"Looking for this? We knew you'd find the 'decoy'." She whispered, smirking at Beca.

"You dirty bird." Beca smiled, socking Chloe jokingly in the arm.

Later that night Beca and Jesse back at their apartment collapsed on their bed, Beca snuggling her head into Jesse's chest and wrapping her arms around him as he pulled her into him.

"Jess, did you know it wasn't really a girl?" She looks up at him.

"Does it matter? We're finally having the baby that was supposed to be inevitably ours." He strokes her hair back, kissing her on the forehead.

"Definitely not how I'd imagined it, but you're right."

"That ditsy and spirited girl is definitely a blessing." Jesse agrees.

Beca sighs, rolling over to her side and turning the knob on her lap clockwise, darkening the room instantly before crawling under the covers, burying herself back into Jesse's hold. The two attempted to fall asleep, but not before Beca's phone began to light up, the vibration of it shaking the table it sat upon.

"Em? What's up?" Beca asks worried.

Emily's muffled cry was apparent through the phone as Beca struggled to understand her, trying to calm her, before asking what was wrong.

"Deep breaths Em." Beca instructed her, hearing fear in her shallow breaths.

Jesse clicked back on the lap, gesturing to Beca before she put her finger up, shushing him.

"Okay, just stay with Chloe until we get there." Beca instructs her, hanging up and throwing her phone into the sheets.

"What was that?" Jesse tried to ask again.

"Emily's bleeding, and she's fearful she's miscarrying." Beca briefly informs him before throwing on her slippers and coat, grabbing her keys from her dresser and running from the room.

Upon arriving at the house, Beca climbs the stairs to the young Bella's room, finding Chloe sitting beside her on the bed, rubbing her hand up and down her back, holding her hair back from her tear stained face. Emily's face was flushed, and her eye's were an angry, burning color as she avoided Beca's stare shamefully.

"Em what's up?" She asks, briskly walking over.

Emily words were choppy, and she was only able to speak in broken up sentences between sobs.

"I...I woke up an...and there was blood!" She exclaims.

"She's okay, it was a small amount." Chloe assures her.

"What should we do?" Chloe adds.

Beca turns to Emily, putting a reassuring hand on her back as to promise that she wasn't mad, just frightened more than anything.

"Em, give me details; Walk me through it. Don't worry, nothing is too gross to hear, I promise i've seen a lot."

The three girls sit in silence as Chloe and Beca comfort her, waiting for her to muster up an explanation.

"I'm sorry to scare you Beca, it probably was nothing." Emily shamefully looks away.

"We don't know that, it's okay. If this happened, we'll get through it, but I'm more concerned about you right now."

Emily lifts her sheets to reveal barely a quarter sized splotch of blood staining her beige bedsheets, and Beca sighs, leaning over to wrap Emily into a hug of relief.

"Emily, it's normal to bleed a little during pregnancy, especially in the beginning." Beca reassures her.

"But how much is normal?" Emily whimpers.

"Unless it feels like you're getting your flow, it's normal." Beca promises.

Beca gets up, sliding off her slippers at the door and turning to Emily as she stands in the doorway.

"I'm gonna go start a thing of tea, do you want some?" Beca asks the two.

"Beca?" Emily asks.

"Don't worry Em, i'm staying the night with you."

Emily smiles, then agrees to tea, and the three sit up that night, until Emily falls asleep, then Beca and Chloe quietly open sleeping bags on the floor beside her, keeping their promise to stay the night.


	5. Preeclamsia and God given instincts

"Emily? Are you almost packed?" Beca calls from the bottom of the stairs.

Emily flew as fast as her pregnant self would allow her, dragging her suitcase behind her, the wheels tipping off balancing and her duffle bag around her right shoulder bouncing against her side. It was the Bella's second retreat, this time to Ruby Falls, an underground man-made cave, in which a secret Riff-off retreat would take place.

Emily nearly tripped on the last step, before Beca had lunged in front of her, catching her in order to keep her upright. Emily smiled, thanking her, and continued to waddle down the hall, feeling as her clumsy self was catching her suitcase on every corner or table.

"Hey Legacy, are you sure you still wanna go?" Fat Amy nervously approaches her.

"I'm not due for another two months!" Emily laughs reassuringly.

The Bella's board the newly renovated bus, blue seats lining the sides like two long, cushioned benches, facing their backs to the windows, and hand loops hung above their heads, making it more accessible and easier to stand while the bus was moving. Old seats were removed, curtains placed on the long windows, and it looked as if it was a new purchase, rather than a musty old bus, loading and transporting generations of Bella's.

"Okay, I think we have everyone." Chloe leans over and taps Amy on the shoulder, approving her to go ahead and close the doors.

Twelve hours in a bus before stopping at a hotel, the girls, even though they lived together and constantly put up with each other, had even felt they had enough of this trip already, impatiently just wanting to get to the place so they could turn around and go home, but Chloe felt persistent in suggesting that they make it a bonding experience, sight-seeing before they have to go back.

" _She'll change her mind when she realizes how much Evelyn needs her."_ Beca thought, scuffing.

Chloe sat on the hotel bed, pumping as she sat cross-legged, facing Beca.

"And you don't miss her already? Like mommy paranoia or something?" Beca asks.

"I think my boobs feel relief." She grimaces in slight discomfort at the way the pump squeezes and kneads the milk from her.

Emily groans, looking down at her own, and lays back, unable to imagine it being any worse than they already felt.

"Please tell me this is the worst part." Emily grumbles.

"Not even close." Chloe laughs.

 **-XXX-**

"Is anyone else terrified about how dark this elevator is?" Chloe whimpers, tightly hugging Beca's arm.

"I think we should be more worried about the ten of us being in it at the same time." Beca redirects her, stroking the glass wall of the elevator, seeing if she could feel the rock on the outside of it.

"I'm not; I've already made it across the border four times." Flo added.

The door opens, and the girls each step out, surrounded by sudden darkness and squinting their eyes to let them adjust to the lesser light, though it was not completely dark, some small lanterns hung on the wall.

The humid moisture of the damp cave made the girls groan, shaking their light jackets from their shoulders and tossing them over their arms. They continue walking, the girls forming a chain, Beca holding Chloe's hand in front of her, while reaching back with her other to grab whichever Bella's hand behind her, who would grab the other girl's behind her, continuing all the way to the back of the line, where Flo resided last.

"Sure, put the minority always in the back. Rosa Parks of the Latina's." Flo implied.

"Again with the race thing..." Cynthia Rose snaps back.

"Can someone carry me?" Fat Amy groans, insisting they make a formation, making it easier for them all to support and carry her weight.

Beca stops in front of their destination, smiling as the Bella's stare in awe and surprise at how beautiful the spot actually was. A large, fifty foot waterfall, with colorful blue, pink, purple and other bright colors shining behind it, noisily rained down, the water hitting the cave floor like loud horseshoes, clomping and splashing against it, the whole thing being fenced off around the hole in which the water fell.

"Welcome to the riff-off!" A big voice boomed from off the walls.

The Bella's drop hands and curiously look around, stunned at the beauty of it all, and the overwhelming feel of it all. As they grouped together, preparing to sing, Emily stood behind them, scrunching her face at the tightness of it all, rubbing her stomach as she breathed deeply in order to stay calm.

"Em? Are you coming?" Beca asks, turning to the young, and heavily pregnant girl.

"My feet hurt, I'm gonna sit this round out." Emily moans.

Time passes and by the third category, the girls found themselves, and the other final team, the tonehangers, competing head to head, and Emily had still not wanted to join in, the baby feeling as though it was weighing heavily upon her pelvis.

"Em?" Chloe notices the small girl grimacing in the corner, leaning against the wall.

"Yeah?" She responds calmly, turning to smile as if nothing was wrong.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fantastic! Thanks." She flashes a small, unconvincing smile.

Chloe walks back over to Beca and nudges her, putting her hand on her shoulder and whispering into her ear, gesturing to Emily, and Beca turns, deciding to comfort Emily rather than celebrate their win.

"Hey Em?" Beca walks up behind her, putting her hand on her shoulder.

Emily collapses with her back against the wall, and Beca joins her, extending a comforting hand, outreaching it to hold Emily's.

"I think something's wrong; For real this time." Emily whimpers, fear painted across her face.

Helping her to her feet, Beca escorts her toward the entrance, and out of curiosity and concern the other's follow, following them into the glass elevator, praying that they found the right way out.

The light of mid-day blinds their eyes as they struggle to adjust. Fear races through-out Beca's body, her muscles tense, and her thoughts of bad things intensifying. The seriousness of the baby being born early was just that, and time was of the essence. Her heart pounded, and guilt flew through her veins, Emily feeling terrible if something was to happen.

 **-XXX-**

Chloe paces in the waiting room of the nearest hospital, as the other girls sit in the chair, each of them with their own nervous habit; Wringing their hands, tapping their feet or hands, or Stacie mindlessly grinding at her fingernails until the nails on her left hand were just stubs.

Beca emerges, staring at all the Bella's with a heavy heart, feeling it sink deeper as she dreaded what she had to tell them. But her actions spoke louder than any words she would have strung together, unable to speak in a state of disbelief.

Beca falls into Chloe's outreached arms, flailing her body limply in Chloe's as she collapses to the floor, sobbing into her knees. Chloe's gentle hand on her back wasn't enough to assure her that this wasn't the worst thing because after all she and Jesse went through, this was the breaking point for them both, wanting to give up.

"How are they?" Chloe asked calmly, trying to console the shaking brunette.

"Emily's… crushed at the very least. She won't even talk to me. He had a collapsed lung at birth." Beca informs her in between sobs, struggling to breath and calm down.

As well as taking Emily's feelings into consideration, the understandable guilt she felt, Beca had laid curled up next to Emily on the bed, hugging her tightly as she comforted and coaxed her, feeling the raw emotion of it all, as well as heartbreak.

"Em?" Beca whispered.

Emily's heavy sobs were the only sound that filled the room, louder than all the monitors hooked up to Emily themselves.

"I'm a let down. Something I would have never predicted would happen." She sobbed weakly.

"Em, none of us knew this would happen, and we can't change that. But you should know, it may have been nothing you did. But we're gonna be alright, as long as we grieve together." Beca coaxes her, squeezing her tighter.

A light knock echos on the wood based door, as the brunette, thin and bright faced nurse emerges inside.

"We've got him stable." She informs them.

"What? No, they said he wouldn't make it through the night." Beca stutters.

"He's a fighter, striving inside the little incubator." She smiles.

Beca lights up, glaring at a stunned Emily, unable to move or even express any emotion, but instead, freezes. Tears stream harder from the girl's faces', Emily nuzzling into Beca's grasp.

"Your husband is on his way." The nurse adds, smiling before turning to leave.

Beca brushes Emily's matted hair from her face, hugging her as the two continued to cry, a wave of uncontrollable emotions flowing over them, neither of them ready to get up and talk to anyone, or share with the others what they had heard. The only thing they were focused on in the moment was comforting each other, and wondering when they would get to see him.

 **-XXX-**

"Jesse!" Beca called upon seeing him wandering aimlessly up the hospital hallway.

She briskly walked over, collapsing herself into his arms, allowing him to take her in his hold, and stroke back her hair, kissing her on the head. She fell limp, sobbing heavily with her head buried in his chest, overwhelmed with emotions.

"How are they?" Jesse's eyes were filled with worry, and it became apparent he had too been crying.

"They're okay; Emily's preeclamsia is back to normal." Beca murmurs.

"Thank goodness, God is good!" Jesse responds relieved, shushing her sobs and rubbing his hand around her back.

"They're fine! It's okay." He repeats, continuing to comfort his wife's every sob.

Beca turned, allowing Jesse to place his arm around her shoulders as the two walked back into the room, finding Emily vacantly staring into the wall.

"Em? He's okay, we can see him if you'd like." Beca insists.

"No, but you can go whenever." She quietly murmurs.

Jesse gestures to Beca, looking from her to Emily, and Beca shakes her head, wanting to stay to comfort the young girl. It isn't long before the Bella's start asking about Emily and the baby, but the frustration of knowing the baby was in the NICU was the only information worried the girls. After Beca had left, Chloe sat in, comforting the young girl the best she could.

"Emily? Would you like to be wheeled down to the NICU with the Swanson's? They asked if you'd like to come." The nurse asks.

She hesitates, reluctant to get up, not only because she feared seeing the baby boy, wires and monitor hooked up to the small infant she only caught a glimpse of, but also because of the fact that she had just delivered the small, three pound boy, and had received some minor stitches.

"Em? Go ahead, I know they'd love to see you." Chloe encourages her, grabbing her right hand, and placing her left around her back, helping her sit-up and then to her feet, to sit in the wheelchair the nurse had brought in.

"Hey Kiddo, do you want to hold him?" Beca looks over to Em as she enters the room.

Beca sits in a rocking chair, holding the infant in nothing more than an oversized diaper, lying calmly against his mother's bare chest, the sweater that Beca had been wearing unbuttoned and pulled down to allow him to snuggle into the warmth of his mother. Wires taped to his chest, tiny breathing tubes taped up his nose, and a small hat, drooping over his eyes, a hard thing for Emily to stomach, seeing the child so frail.

"Sure." She reluctantly replies.

Beca gently hands Emily her son, cradling him as she tries to softly pass him to Emily, who fearfully took him, feeling as if he would break. She stares down at the perfect little boy, her face glowing and she gushed over him.

"What did you decide for a name?" She finally asks.

"Well, we were hoping you'd help us decide." Beca suggests, looking to her husband for approval.

"Because we were both so unprepared for this, more so Beca." Jesse smirks at Beca who nudges him.

Emily takes a long look at him, taking in his dark, and thin, downy layer of hair, and his tiny smile as she stroked his cheek with her finger, which was probably just gas but made Emily's heart melt, cooing over him.

"Oliver." She whispers.

"I love it." Beca grins and Jesse smiles at the two, reaching for Beca's hand to squeeze.

"Baby Ollie." Jesse coos, swooning over his son.

 **-XXX-**

Emily found herself drawn to the small infant, sneaking into the NICU much to her nurse's disapproval, in the wee hours of the morning despite her cramping and soreness. Since they were many hours from home, the Bella's had driven back, and Beca and Jesse found a hotel near the hospital, where they kept company to Emily and visited their son on a regular basis, and sneaking Emily food that the nurse's specifically didn't want her to be eating.

When the day came for Emily to be released, it was the single most emotional day for the young girl, and despite Oliver not being her son, she had loved him like her younger brother, not wanting to leave. But before she left, ready for Jesse to take her back to the hotel with him while Beca stayed with Ollie, the two brought Emily down to see him.

Emily swayed, walking with her IV in her arm down the hallway, pulling the pole dangling with the bag down with her. She was shoeless, nothing but her favorite fuzzy socks on her feet, and she shuffled sorely down the hall and around the corner into the NICU, Beca and Jesse by her side.

He laid covered in tubes, two taped down, running into his nose, another on her arm, and a final one in his mouth, acting as his source of food, pumping the breast milk from Emily into his tubes. He looked small and fragile, his limp body lying under a bright light, a small sleeping mask covering his eyes from it. He wore nothing but a diaper, hat, and some small socks, sagging off his feet, small enough to fit a large man's ring over, and it broke her heart.

"Em? Did you want to hold him?" Jesse asks, standing behind her with a comforting hand on her back.

Emily stared, filled with guilt, feeling terrified of holding him again, worried that despite all the precautions that something would happen, so she silently stepped back, shaking her head.

"Emily, you can't be hard on yourself for what happened. He's striving and okay! You followed your God given instincts!" Beca reassures her.

"He almost died!" Emily blurts, tears streaming down her face, overwhelmed.

"Oh Em," Beca wrapped her in a gentle hug, pulling her in close as she rubbed her back.

Hormones raged through the young girl, feelings of guilt and self hatred, along with times of feeling so alone and helpless in the hospital.

"Can we go back to the hotel?" Emily turns, ready to leave and Jesse nods.


End file.
